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The invention relates to a method and apparatus for cutting high viscosity liquid materials.
A method in which a high viscosity liquid material is cut into blocks for easier handling is frequently employed in fields of technology dealing with rubbers, plastics, adhesives, paints, and foods. For instance, in the manufacture of an organic solvent solution of a high viscosity liquid material such as crude silicone rubber or synthetic rubber, the high viscosity liquid material is taken from its manufacturing apparatus or storage site and cut into blocks, and these blocks are then put into an organic solvent and mixed.
In fields of technology dealing with high viscosity liquid materials such as foods, a high viscosity food material whose main ingredient is a starch or protein is taken from its storage site through a supply pipe, cut into blocks, and these blocks are sealed in a container.
A method employed in the past for putting such high viscosity liquid materials into the form of blocks was to cut the material with a mechanical means using a blade or cutting tool similar to a blade. However, when the high viscosity liquid material was a tacky material, the high viscosity liquid material would often adhere to the surface of the cutting tool and decrease its cutting performance. In severe cases it was even impossible to cut the high viscosity liquid material. Also, if a block form of the high viscosity liquid material needed to be discharged in a specific quantity, high viscosity liquid material adhering to the cutting tool had to be scraped off or washed away each time, and this resulted in poor productivity.
Another problem was that the quality of the high viscosity liquid material itself was diminished when a high viscosity liquid material such as an adhesive agent was exposed to the outside air and its properties modified.
A number of methods have been proposed for solving such problems. For example, in Japanese Application H7-98099, there is a method in which a pressurized gas composed of nitrogen or other inert gas is blown into a high viscosity liquid material in the pipe through which the material passes, thereby cutting the high viscosity liquid material, and discharging it in the form of blocks. With this method, however, the pressurized gas used for cutting often expands suddenly within the high viscosity liquid material, that it splattered or scattered the high viscosity liquid material.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for cutting high viscosity liquid materials in which the high viscosity liquid material can be cut into blocks in specified amounts, and with good productivity, and to provide a cutting apparatus which can be used in the cutting method.
These and other features of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the detailed description.